It’s no great surprise
that the first major exhibition by Rick Myers is something that
defies easy categorisation. It is the culmination of seven years
of exploratory work and perhaps the most tangible aspect of FUNNEL
VISION / footprintsinthesnow could be said to be ‘exploring
the intangible’.
footprintsinthesnow is an ongoing personal project charting the
artist’s thought processes and creative connections. Incorporating
a selection of limited edition posters, screenprints and paper sculptures,
the works themselves explore the process of creative development
through their component elements; including text, drawings, montage,
paper models, diagrams, notes, and cross-references.
As the title suggests, footprintsinsthesnow is a body of work that,
as it progresses, leaves a trail of evidence.
“I think the thing that is running through the work is the
fact that there is something running through the work,” says
an evasive Myers, while trying to reveal all. “That is the
key. The idea that there is a thread going through every single
thing I’ve created.” When asked to suggest possible
themes within the installation, Myers provides a list that includes
the following:
Trying to find your way in the dark
Ideas inspired by the unknown
An outcome based on understanding or not understanding
Trying to find answers and not wanting answers
Being a human in relation to the world
A journey through a changing environment to a changing destination
Something bigger than the thing that contains it
This constantly accumulating and changing body of work is housed
in an entirely portable wooden museum entitled FUNNEL VISION, created
by the artist as a context for presenting his responses to these
ideas, while also being an integral part of the work itself. FUNNEL
VISION is a fully demountable structure which can be installed in
different venues and unexpected spaces.
Known primarily until now as a sleeve designer for artists including
Doves and John
Cale, and also as the creator of sought after artefacts including
a limited
edition musical box for Badly
Drawn Boy, Myers has taken a very understated approach to establishing
his own identity as an artist. While letting his design work, which
includes over 100 record sleeves, speak for itself, he has constantly
produced an evolving journal of ideas and artefacts which exist
outside these commissioned projects, and so far have not had an
obvious place in the world.
“The work I’ve done as a designer has always been intensely
personal but has also always been in relation to another artist,”
he says. This installation represents a significant step for Myers
in presenting his previously unknown personal work as an artist
in his own right. “I’ve been working on these ideas
for years but I’ve never felt ready to exhibit them until
now. This is just what I‘ve been doing in the background,
although it’s the foundation,” says Myers, before adding,
“Everything I’ve ever done has led up to this exhibition.”
Artist's website
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independent
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georgian
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